IE8 came out in March of 2008. By the time IE9 is out, it'll be close to 3 years between major browser releases from Microsoft. That is too slow. The Internet is moving much faster than Microsoft understands. (Or perhaps if they understand it, the Web is moving much faster than they can handle.)
Chrome went from a state of non-existing to very popular in the same time. Microsoft's web browser development speed is abysmal for such a powerful and large software company. They either don't care, or they want it to be slow and have poor performance. I can think of no other reason for such slow development of their web browser, especially in an era where everyone knows how important the web is.
Actually it came out in March 2009. So it's two years between major browser releases. In that 22 months they've dropped 7 tech previews and beta. So at about a clip of every 3 months they've released a new build.
But I do agree that it's too slow. They really do need a Chrome like schedule.
[OT] I am pleased with the features in the IE9 Demo, even if a couple of features are fully matured (like the ones mentioned in the article) but what about their upgrade strategy? Are they planning on forcing IE users to upgrade? If there isn't some sort of push for people to upgrade then all these changes are for naught.
Chrome went from a state of non-existing to very popular in the same time. Microsoft's web browser development speed is abysmal for such a powerful and large software company. They either don't care, or they want it to be slow and have poor performance. I can think of no other reason for such slow development of their web browser, especially in an era where everyone knows how important the web is.